Sports Today: Another Vontaze Burfict letdown for the Bengals

I happen to agree with those in charge of the Cincinnati Bengals who have suggested Burfict gets a bad rap at times, but how long can the team continue to rely on a player who is so often unavailable to play in its games?

At least his new contract allows the team to recoup some of the money it owes him if/when he gets in trouble.

The suspension will cost Burfict a little more than $1.6 million, according to overthecap.com. He will lose $896,470 in game checks, plus another $562,500 in 46-man roster incentives that were worked into the three-year, $32.5 million contract he signed in September.

The contract also subjected his signing bonus to forfeiture, resulting in a pro-rated docking of $223,529.

One has to wonder if this makes linebacker more of a priority in the upcoming NFL draft.

Especially without Burfict in the lineup, the Bengals defense needs more playmaking from top to bottom.

(I also felt that way last year when they passed on Malik Hooker to take a speedy receiver from Washington they really didn’t need.)

The unit has been sound for a while (and that will take you a long way), but the focus this offseason seems to be on being more dynamic.

That’s a pretty good focus, especially with the offense likely to continue to be held back by the quarterback and offensive line…

The start time has been moved up from 1:45 p.m. to 11:45 a.m. in hopes of avoiding the worst weather of the day.

A rainy day might make it harder to get much done, but then again it could also give Urban Meyer and his staff a chance to see quarterback competitors Dwayne Haskins Jr., Joe Burrow and Tate Martell in less-than-ideal conditions.

Not a bad data point to add in evaluating them, but then again it might not be worth it to increase the risk of injury across the board.